We are thrilled to be releasing an exclusive excerpt from Katya de Becerra’s upcoming novel, Oasis! This new YA novel publishes January 7th 2020, and it is available for pre-order. Before you check out the excerpt, Katya talks about the inspiration and what readers will expect in her new novel:
Oasis is my second novel. My love letter to archaeology, survival stories, deserts, and the films of Andrei Tarkovsky.
I wrote the first draft of Oasis as a 2014 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) project to keep busy while my debut-to-be What The Woods Keep was “on sub”. Eventually, both books have found their perfect home with Imprint (Macmillan US). After celebrating the release of my debut in 2018, I’m excited to see Oasis published next.
Set in Dubai, Oasis follows a small group of friends as they arrive to an active excavation site for what promises to be the summer of their lives. When a terrible desert storm destroys the site, stranding them in the desert, their summer turns into a surreal nightmare and a struggle for survival.
As a reader, I gravitate toward unreliable narrators and narratives in which things are not what they seem. I’m also an archaeology buff as well as a huge fan of strange, melancholic science fiction Andrei Tarkovsky is particularly known for. Oasis brought all these interests together and allowed me to explore my favorite science fiction tropes in the context of a survival story.
Early praise for Oasis
“Tense, electric storytelling that makes you wonder what you would be willing to sacrifice to have your deepest longings fulfilled.” –Rachael Craw, the of the award-winning author Spark series and The Rift
“It was magically eerie and creepy with a side of amazingly weird. There is mystery, and worry, and at times I wondered, is this even real? I could definitely see this on and episode of the Twilight Zone—the old ones that were awesome!” –Candace Robinson, the author Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault, The Bride of Glass and other books.
Synopsis | Goodreads
The oasis saved them. But who will save them from the oasis?
Alif had exciting summer plans: working on her father’s archaeological dig site in the desert with four close friends . . . and a very cute research assistant. Then the sandstorm hit.
With their camp wiped away, Alif and the others find themselves lost on the sands, seemingly doomed . . . until they find the oasis. It has everything they need: food, water, shade—and mysterious ruins that hide a deadly secret. As reality begins to shift around them, they question what’s real and what’s a mirage.
The answers turn Alif and her friends against one another, and they begin to wonder if they’ve truly been saved. And while it was easy to walk into the oasis, it may be impossible to leave . . .
Katya de Becerra’s new supernatural thriller hides a mystery in plain sight, and will keep you guessing right up to its terrifying conclusion.
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